culture
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Why They Booed at Nelson Mandela’s Memorial
The first sign that something was off at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service on Tuesday came when the crowd of 60,000 people started booing en masse—a low, bovine sound that shook the Soweto stadium and seemed terribly at odds with the patient, forgiving man who brought them here. They were not booing Mandela; they were booing…
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Alabama Man Pleads Guilty to Cross-Burning With Former KKK Leader
A 24-year-old Alabama man has pleaded guilty to participating in a 2009 cross-burning with a former Klu Klux Klan leader, Talking Points Memo reports. Thomas Windell Smith was charged with conspiring “to injure, oppress, threaten, and intimidate African American persons in Alabama,” according to court documents. “This defendant not only committed a federal crime, but…
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Stores Agree to Anti-Profiling Policy
New York’s top retailers agreed to an anti-profiling policy on Monday, hoping to recover from the damage dealt by various apparent racial-profiling scandals, the New York Post reports. Barneys New York and Macy’s, the two stores at the center of the “shopping while black” controversy, have agreed to carry the “Customers’ Bill of Rights” in stores…
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Black Fashion Student Claims Hasidic Men Attacked Him
A black fashion student was allegedly attacked by a gang of more than a dozen Hasidic men while walking through a Brooklyn, N.Y., neighborhood after a night of partying, the Daily News reports. Taj Patterson was headed home on Dec. 1 when, he claims, he was surrounded by the Orthodox Jewish men, who began assaulting…
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Mormon Church Confronts Racist Past
The Mormon Church is setting the record straight on past wrongs, issuing what the Associated Press calls its “most comprehensive explanation” about excluding black people from priesthood and other controversial practices. “The Church disavows the theories advanced in the past that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor or curse, or that it reflects…
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Lamar Odom Sentenced to Probation, Alcohol-Abuse Treatment
Lamar Odom, the former Lakers and Clippers forward and the husband of Khloe Kardashian, was sentenced to three years of probation and three months of alcohol-abuse treatment, following a “no contest” plea on Monday, the Los Angeles Times reports. The basketball player must also pay almost $2,000 in fines. Odom was arrested in late August…
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George Zimmerman’s Girlfriend Wants to Drop Charges
George Zimmerman’s girlfriend is now changing her tune, asking a judge to lift the order blocking her from seeing him, and asking for charges to be dropped. According to CNN, Samantha Scheibe wants the court order lifted so the couple can “talk and be together.” “I am not afraid of George in any manner, and…
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New Mexico Cop Who Shot at Minivan Full of Kids Fired
The New Mexico State police officer who shot at a minivan full of children during a traffic stop in October, has been fired, the Associated Press reports. Officer Elias Montoya was fired on Friday after an internal investigation and disciplinary hearing. According to the AP, he plans to appeal. New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez said…
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World Leaders Join South Africa to Say Goodbye to Nelson Mandela
Updated: Tuesday, Dec. 10, 7:20 a.m. ET: While it’s likely that much will be made of the president’s handshake with Cuban President Raul Castro, Fidel’s brother, during the memorial to late South African President Nelson Mandela, it is best to put the exchange into context. Obama was greeting all of the speakers who were seated…
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I’ve Finally Come to My Senses About R. Kelly
Consider this a public penance. Last year I wrote a story for Clutch magazine, “No Longer Trapped in the Closet,” boldly defending my decision to still like R. Kelly’s music despite the rumors surrounding him about his proclivity for sex with underage girls. You have to understand, R. Kelly’s first solo album dropped in 1993,…